Antiques disposal

Brandy Borne and her mother, Vivian, bid on and win the contents of a storage unit whose owner had failed to pay the monthly charge. On their second trip to empty the unit, they find the business' owner, Big Jim Bob, dead and the rest of the contents gone. While Brandy and Vivian have been involved in solving murders before, this case becomes personal when someone breaks into their home, injuring Brandy's sister, Peggy Sue, and her dog, Sushi. Complicating the mother-and-daughter sleuthing team's efforts to find the killer and determine what was in the storage locker, Brandy must deal with the aftershock from learning a family secret and with the fact that her boyfriend, the former chief of police, is now part of the Witness Protection Program. Narrated by Brandy, with some chapters and comments from Vivian (and the pair's editor), this humorous cozy is framed by life in small-town Iowa and teems with quirky characters. It will appeal to readers who enjoy Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow mysteries.--O'Brien, Sue Copyright 2010 Booklist

Near the start of Allan's zany sixth antiques mystery set in the Mississippi River town of Serenity (after 2011's Antiques Knock-Off), dotty Vivian Borne and her long-suffering daughter, Brandy, set off for Lucky Four Leaf Storage, whose owner, Big Jim Bob, is auctioning off the unknown contents of one of his units in default. Undaunted by the mouse droppings covering the cardboard boxes in the unit, Vivian wins the auction with her $100 bid. Unfortunately, when mother and daughter return to pick up the boxes, the storage unit is empty, except for a rolled-up rug containing Big Jim Bob's dead body. Might Big Jim Bob's demise be connected to a Bix Beiderbecke cornet later discovered in one of the boxes? A classic gathering of suspects, under the guise of auctioning off the cornet, leads to an unexpected denouement. Allan is the pseudonym of married couple Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

The mysterious contents of a storage locker they've purchased land a ditzy mother-daughter duo in yet another murder. Vivian Borne and her daughter--well, really her granddaughter--Brandy make a little extra cash selling antiques in the Mississippi River town of Serenity. When Vivian gets a tip from her old friend Big Jim Bob that the storage locker he's auctioning off contains some valuable items, the pair bid on the item, win it and haul off the first load of treasure. But on their return, the locker is empty except for the body of Big Jim Bob. Vivian, who considers herself a detective, dives into the investigation, dragging along Brandy, who's been depressed ever since her boyfriend suddenly left town, and her actual daughter Peggy Sue, who's Brandy's birth mother. Peggy Sue's spirits have been equally low since her husband died, leaving her nothing but debts and forcing her to move in with Vivian and Brandy. A few treasures are found in the boxes they brought home. But it's not until someone breaks in and attacks Peggy Sue and Brandy's blind dog Sushi in order to search the house that they realize they must have something the killer wants. A cornet that may have belonged to Bix Beiderbecke is the only item that would seem to merit the killer's interest. Once they learn that the owner of the storage locker was also murdered, Vivian plans a denouement out of Nero Wolfe. Allan's sixth (Antiques Knock-Off, 2011, etc.) combines the latest on the ongoing saga of the ladies' lives and the obligatory antiquing tips with another amusing mystery.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Brandy Borne and her mother, Vivian, bid on and win the contents of a storage unit whose owner had failed to pay the monthly charge. On their second trip to empty the unit, they find the business' owner, Big Jim Bob, dead and the rest of the contents gone. While Brandy and Vivian have been involved in solving murders before, this case becomes personal when someone breaks into their home, injuring Brandy's sister, Peggy Sue, and her dog, Sushi. Complicating the mother-and-daughter sleuthing team's efforts to find the killer and determine what was in the storage locker, Brandy must deal with the aftershock from learning a family secret and with the fact that her boyfriend, the former chief of police, is now part of the Witness Protection Program. Narrated by Brandy, with some chapters and comments from Vivian (and the pair's editor), this humorous cozy is framed by life in small-town Iowa and teems with quirky characters. It will appeal to readers who enjoy Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow mysteries. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

Near the start of Allan's zany sixth antiques mystery set in the Mississippi River town of Serenity (after 2011's Antiques Knock-Off), dotty Vivian Borne and her long-suffering daughter, Brandy, set off for Lucky Four Leaf Storage, whose owner, Big Jim Bob, is auctioning off the unknown contents of one of his units in default. Undaunted by the mouse droppings covering the cardboard boxes in the unit, Vivian wins the auction with her bid. Unfortunately, when mother and daughter return to pick up the boxes, the storage unit is empty, except for a rolled-up rug containing Big Jim Bob's dead body. Might Big Jim Bob's demise be connected to a Bix Beiderbecke cornet later discovered in one of the boxes? A classic gathering of suspects, under the guise of auctioning off the cornet, leads to an unexpected denouement. Allan is the pseudonym of married couple Barbara Collins and Max Allan Collins. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency. (May)